Dredger or earth-excavator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. A. SMITH. Dredger or Earth Excavator. No. 242,454. Patented June 7,1881.

E L v Q Witnesses. Inventor.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. A. SMITH. Dredger or Earth Excavator.

No."242,484. Patented June .7, 1881.,

iinesses. Inventor.

' W Wfidm :UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A SMITH, or NEW GARLISLE, INDIANA.

DREDGER OR EARTH-EXCAVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,484, dated June 7,1881.

Application filed February 25, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES A. SMirH, of New Oarlisle, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful I m provemen tsin Earth-Excavators; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accom pan yingdrawin gs, forming a part thereof, and in which Figure 1 represents a side view of my improved earth-excavator. Fig. 2 represents an enlarged side view of the scoop or excavating apparatus. Fig. 3 represents an end view of the same with a part of the supporting-frame, apron, and pulley attached; and Fig. 4 represents a plan view of said excavator.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each figure.

In the drawings, A represents a car or truck, upon the rear end of which is mounted an engine, B.

Upon the front of the car, and firmly attached to it, is a frame in the form of a segment of a circle, 0, in the center of which rises a post, I, and to the front side of the post is adjustably attached by means of the bolt a cross-bar, the ends of which are provided with pins q, upon which play the rear ends of the bars or timbersj'. The bars f project out over the front end of the car a considerable distance, and carry at their ends a shaft, 4:, upon which are mounted immediately inside of the bars f rotary scoops or shovels and immediately inside of the rotary shovels are sheetiron flanges or guards attached to the rails h. Said rails are carried by a cross-bar, f", in the posts f fastened upon the bars f.

To the post I is attached a cross-bar, 0 to the ends of which are attached posts 0, so as to form slots, in which the upper ends of the adjustable bars it play, and to which they are fastened by a pin, 0. The lower ends of the bars h carry a roller, a, and at a distance of several feet from their upper end they carry a roller, a Said roller is provided on the outside of the harsh with a pulley, j, and the rollers a and a carry an endless apron, a.

' To the sh aft o is attached arope, l, as shown; or preferably it may be attached to the bars (N0 model.)

f and passed over the top of the post Z, thence down to the floor of the car, where it is fastened.

Under the harsfare rollers 0. One of said rollers is provided with a shaft passing through the post l and a crank, 12. The outer end of said roller is provided with teeth, which engage with the teeth of a rack, (I, attached to the outer face of the segment 0.

At a suitable height from the floor is attached to the post I bevel-gear n, the horizontal wheel of which is provided with a pulley, over which runs a belt, a, receiving motion from the engine 13 The vertical wheel of said bevel-gear is attached to a shaft carrying the pulleys j, whicl1,by means of the belts m and it, drive the pulleys j and j the former giving motion to the endless apron a and the latter to the rotary scoops g. The rotary scoops are provided at their outer ends with spurs or teeth 15, attached to the back t of the scoop. The back of the scoop is made rounding both longitudinally, as shown by the dotted lines, and laterally. The outer side, 3, of the scoop is straight near its outer end, but curves from near it inward, and reaches across to the inner side, 8, near the hub of the scoop. The innerside, 8, is straightand open near the hub. The arrows show the direction in which the rotary scoop turns when in use.

The adjustable bars h and posts 0 are provided with holes 0 into which the pin oisinserted.

The operation of my improved earth-excavator is as follows, to wit: The rotary scoops are first set to the desired height by means of the bolt 1), which, when loosened, permits the bars f to vibrate over the rollers c, which sup port them, and then when adjusted they are iirmly clamped, and the bars h, by means of the pins 0, are adjusted to their desired height. The machine is then advanced to the face of the cut by the engine, which, through the belts r r, give it motion, and when at the proper point the car is blocked or otherwise held, the belt r disengaged, and the machinery set in motion by the belt a. As the scoops work into the earth and loosen it, it falls into them and rolls downward to the hub and inner side thereof and discharges upon the endless apron a, which discharges at its upper end into a chute, WV, (shown dotted,) arranged to catch the earth and discharge it upon the side of the machine or into wagons driven under it. As the scoops take up the earth within their reach the crank 1; may be worked in either direction as desired, which will cause the roller 0, with its teeth, to work into the teeth of the segment (I, and thereby cause the scoop to move sidewise. When all the earth is thus excavated within the reach of the machine it may be advanced, as before shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The rotary scoops g, arranged to revolve at right angles to the face of the cut and so as to discharge at the hub, as herein described and claimed, in combination with an endless apron, a, arranged between and parallel to the rotary diggers, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an earth-excavator provided with rotary scoops g, constructed to discharge at their hub, substantially as herein shown and described, the combination, with said scoop, of the vertically-adj ustable and horizonally-rotatable frame f, rollers e, segmentc, carA, and endless apron u, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In an earth-excavator, the combination, with the rotary scoops g, constructed to discharge at their hub, substantially as shown and described, of the endless and adjustable apron a, frame f, rollers e, rack d, crank 0, post I, bevel-gearing n, and belts k and m, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose specified.

CHARLES A. SMITH.

Vitnesses:

M. ZIMMERMAN, JOHN F. FLOWER. 

